Collagen supplements have become a multibillion-dollar industry

Collagen supplements typically come from animal sources like fish, pigs, or cattle

Eating collagen-rich foods won't lead to more collagen in the body because your digestive system breaks down consumed collagen into amino acids. Instead, eating a healthy diet of proteins and greens helps your body to produce collagen. Collagen supplements derived from animal skin and bones are typically sold in a prebroken-down peptide formulation called hydrolyzed collagen so they can be absorbed through the gut into the bloodstream.

No medical evidence suggests collagen drinks or supplements will improve your hair

Marketing claims that collagen supplements or drinks will make your hair shiny, thick, and improve hair growth are not backed by scientific evidence.

See preferred supplements across different countries in 2025, by generation

Millennials and Gen Z typically took more supplements than other age groups across vitamins, proteins, minerals, and herbal supplements, according to 2025 data from a Global Consumer Insights Survey conducted in 55 countries. Roughly two-thirds of Gen Z respondents stated they'd taken vitamins in the past 12 months. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Can humans delay or reverse old age?

We're not sure yet. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco are studying why some conditions and behaviors, such as low-oxygen environments and exercise, benefit the aging process, hoping to reveal potential health applications. Some of this research focuses on klotho, a naturally occurring age-regulating hormone named after the Greek Fate Clotho. Animal studies on klotho brain injections found subjects had improved memory recall and age-related degeneration resistance.

Laser skin treatments can promote the production of collagen

Skin resurfacing vaporizes the top layer of skin to reveal healthier, new skin, while collagen can give the skin structure and elasticity. Such procedures treat scars and burns, but may leave light spots on the skin.

Do you need a multivitamin?

In 2013, several researchers declared multivitamins dead, stating that so-called supplements had no clear benefits and might be harmful. But the science isn't so clear-cut. This article explores the question of who would benefit from...

Scleroderma, which causes skin to harden and scar, has no FDA-approved treatment

It's an autoimmune disease that disproportionately causes worse complications in African American people for unknown reasons. It causes the body to overproduce collagen after the immune system attacks the body's own connective tissue, leading to excess collagen deposits and restricted blood circulation as small blood vessels are damaged. It can damage various organs, including the lungs.

Supplements often have issues with impurities, toxins, and inaccurate labels

Consumer Reports' tests of more than 20 supplement powders and shakes in 2025 found that more than two-thirds of them contain unsafe levels of lead. Some contained 10 times the amount of lead that's considered acceptable to ingest in a day. The levels they found, in some cases, were even higher than when they tested the products 15 years earlier.

Search this citation-heavy database of nutrition and supplement research

Explore a reference site that aggregates and summarizes peer-reviewed studies on hundreds of supplements and dietary interventions. It is ad-free and funded by subscriptions, making it a health resource without a financial stake in what you buy.

Resistance training can help fight osteoporosis, especially in menopausal women

Weight-bearing training that pulls on bones, joints, and muscles can strengthen bone health. Movements like squats, rows, shoulder and chest presses, and push-ups can be started at any age (if you don't already have advanced bone loss), though ideally they should be started earlier—in one's teens or young adulthood—to stave off bone density losses that begin in your 30s.

Vitamins can slow macular degeneration

Research published in 2022 affirmed that vitamin formulations containing vitamins C and E, copper, zinc, lutein, and zeaxanthin—but no beta carotene—can enhance eye health and slow the progression of macular degeneration.

Two festival-goers were hospitalized after receiving peptide injections, raising questions

Investigative journalism shop ProPublica wrote about two people who became extremely ill following antiaging peptide injections. Authorities were examining whether the individuals were sickened by an infection, contamination related to the injections, or an issue with the medication itself, according to documents obtained by the journalists at ProPublica.

As of 2025, extensive research studies do not support fears about seed oils

Across human trials, seed oils have not been shown to increase rates of disease or inflammation, with a study of over 800 Swedish men finding that higher seed oil diets were linked to living longer. Reviews of these trials found better health outcomes when saturated fats were replaced with seed oils.

As of 2025, perfect synthetic replication of natural organs remains elusive

Advancements such as 3D printing muscles, performing vaginal reconstruction with colon tissue, and growing organs in a lab have shown promise, but artificial options and transplanting substitutions continue to exhibit functional and performance limitations compared to their natural equivalents.

Menopause may become a $600B industry

Companies marketing products and supplements to alleviate menopause symptoms and make life easier during this life stage have become a gold mine. This 2022 article explores how and why companies have swooped into this space, and whether you should trust them or not.

Adhesion molecules and intercellular junctions allow cells to connect together

While some organic structures are mostly composed of non-cellular components (e.g., collagen and calcium phosphate minerals in bones), tissues and organs composed of connected cells rely on specialized proteins and connections to create watertight seals that protect cells within the interior from environmental molecules.

Red blood, skin, hair, and nail cells destroy their DNA upon maturing

To maximize the amount of oxygen they carry and more easily alter their shape to fit into narrow blood capillaries, red blood cells destroy their own nuclei. Cornified cells found in hair, nails, and the outermost layer of skin destroy their nuclei and other cellular contents to make room for keratin, which provides durability and structural support.

'Viscoelasticity' allows muscles to be elongated briefly after stretching

The protective tissues around skeletal muscles consist of elastic proteins like collagen. Stretching them expands their length while retaining strength, ideal for athletes.

Strengthening your butt muscles can help protect against running injuries

More than 28 million people may go running in the US every week, yet people often get hurt—especially with knee injuries—and this podcast explores the science on what happens to our bodies when we run and the effects on our muscles and joints. It also discusses safety tips, including the need to only add more distance to your runs in tiny increments, and that strengthening glute muscles via single-leg glute bridges may be particularly protective against injuries.

The Chinese market for donkey hides has created a new source of diseases

Since 1992, China’s donkey population has dropped more than 80 percent. This report examines how China’s booming demand for a traditional medicine known as e-jiao, made from collagen from donkey hides, is leading to the slaughter of 6 million African donkeys annually, and providing a new source for zoonotic diseases.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

How Korea’s beauty industry is impacting its healthcare system

Hallyu, or the spread of Korean culture, has made South Korea a global leader in the beauty industry. People worldwide travel to the country, seeking aesthetic procedures like microneedling and noninvasive lifting. The $4B industry attracts many doctors seeking high profits. However, the result is a healthcare system facing a critical shortage of general practitioners and hospital physicians.

The collapse of gas bubbles in the joint synovial fluid causes 'cracking' knuckles

The human population can be divided into two categories: those who crack their knuckles and those who don't. Do you know the technical term for this phenomenon is "tribonucleation?" What actually happens inside a knuckle when it pops? This visual explainer breaks down finger joint popping in real time.

What sleep loss does to the brain

Proteins in the brain perform various critical functions, such as helping neurotransmitters function or enabling electrical activity in the organ. These proteins must fold in specific ways to perform their duties, similar to paper airplanes. Sleep deprivation contributes to the gathering of misfolded proteins that aren't shaped correctly for their roles and so accumulate in undesired spaces, such as in the gaps between neurons.

To ward off competition from Revlon, Estée Lauder launched Clinique—the first dermatologist-approved skincare line—in 1968

Clinique launched in 1968 as an entire product line, as opposed to just a single product, which was rare for cosmetics brands at the time. Clinique marked Estée Lauder's first venture into a younger, less luxury-oriented retail market.

Companies developing new weight loss drugs

In recent years, weight loss drugs made a tremendous amount of money for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Other companies are developing new drugs to break into the market. This piece is a concise overview of companies creating and testing new drugs, how far along they are, and what Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are doing to compete with these emerging rivals.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'